Big shots on demand…St. Henry’s Olivia Gast buried this three-pointer during the closing stages of Thursday’s 55-51 win over Harvest Prep in the Division VI semi-final at the Nutter Center. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
The Redskins were already without their point guard. Then they lost their center in a horrific crash to the court. But they found the “courage” to overcome those obstacles with a stirring fourth-quarter comeback.
Fairborn, OH – When bad stuff happened – from the trauma of a devastating injury to the disappointment of falling what seemed to be too far behind – the St. Henry girls basketball players looked at their shoes for inspiration.
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Bible verses, key words and a teammate’s number steadied them, carried them and eventually led them on an epic fourth-quarter comeback for a 55-51 victory over Canal Winchester Harvest Prep in the Division VI state semifinals.
But to reach that victorious moment and their first state final in school history, the Redskins had to recover from what they saw happen to a beloved teammate with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com. Follow on X @jw_gilbert
They saw Molly Wendel, one of eight seniors, get tied up on a rebound with Harvest Prep’s 6-foot-1 Adjoa Acheampong. They saw her fall head first and hard to the floor. They saw Acheampong, the biggest player on the floor, land on top of Wendel. It was a clean play.
They saw her writhing in pain. They saw trainers rush to her. They saw Wendel’s parents hurry to the floor from their seats.
Then they did the only thing they could do, the thing they believed would help the most.
They prayed.
“I’ve been taught that from a young age – it’s my foundation,” said senior Alexis Buschur who led her team in a prayer circle. “And when I was praying, I just got this vision of Molly in the Lord’s hands. She wasn’t here with us, but I just knew it was all in His hands.
Molly (Wendel)…prior to leaving the game with an injury at 2:27 in the first quarter.
“The whole game, even when we were down 10, I just didn’t get flustered at all. Because I just knew from that one little moment that He just sent that calmness through me and He had us all lifted up in His hands with Molly. It was amazing.”
Morgan Baumer, the senior point guard who injured her knee in Saturday’s regional final and couldn’t play, felt strong emotions when she saw her teammate go down with a much worse injury.
“We were just praying, ‘God be with her and just give her the strength to get up and be OK,’” Baumer said.
After the “Amen,” someone handed the players a marker. They wrote “14” on their shoes, Wendel’s number. Another reminder, another reason not to give up, another reason to fight for every play.
“Anytime anything wasn’t going our way, it was look down at your feet and remember who you’re playing for, for each other and for God and for our fans,” said Baumer, who now leads from the bench. “Ultimately, I think that’s the reason we just keep going.”
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To keep going was the only choice after they saw Molly lifted onto a stretcher and wheeled across the Nutter Center floor past their bench. They saw her give a thumbs up. But everyone knew her injuries were severe.
“She’s moving everything, so we’re just praying for the best,” head coach Nate Uhlenhake said.
Alexis Buschur threaded her way through traffic for a second half basket during Thursday’s state semi-final win over Harvest Prep.
The Redskins led 10-6 when Wendel went down. Now they had to play through the emotions of seeing their teammate in pain, and to win they had to do it without two starters. They had held on Saturday without Baumer to beat Fayetteville-Perry by two points.
That game was for Morgan.
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““Tomorrow’s for Molly, and today was for Molly, too,” Baumer said.
The final challenge of the season, the final battle with adversity, will be determined at 7 p.m. Friday at UD Arena when the Redskins (26-1) go against Canton Central Catholic, a 48-42 winner over Castalia Margaretta, for the state championship.
Karlee Buschur fights size in the lane to score in Thursday’s win over Harvest Prep.
“I’m so happy we get another day together,” Uhlenhake said. “We’ve been talking this whole tournament run to just earn another day together, earn another day together. And we did that today.”
Earn it the Redskins did.
They trailed 26-25 at halftime. They trailed 44-34 after the third quarter. Down two starters but not down and out.
“We literally talked about hey, ‘We’ve been here before, we’ve done it before, we gotta go do it again,” Uhlenhake said. “And everybody believed.”
And they looked at their shoes.
Then the Redskins, inspired by what they read, won the fourth quarter 21-7. They produced a 12-0 run. They outscored the Warriors 16-3 over the final 4:40. They accomplished what few in the Nutter Center thought they could.
“Thank God,” were Uhlenhake’s first words in the postgame press room with all of his seniors, except for Wendel, standing behind him. “We’ve been battling adversity all year even though our record may not show that. All these seniors have overcome so much in the last five years that I’ve been coaching. They just don’t quit and they just keep believing in themselves, in each other and in God. Truly, it’s the most special ride I’ve ever been on because these girls have had the courage to show their faith and live it out every single day.”
Uhlenhake couldn’t have known how appropriate some of his pregame words were to the team.
“We talked about it before we left today, how we needed the energy from the stands and we all need to bring our little piece to the puzzle,” he said. “And when we put that together it’s pretty special what we can do.”
Behold, the special moments that wouldn’t stop in the fourth quarter.
Down 48-39 early in the quarter, the Redskins began their comeback.
Karlee Buschur made a layup off a turnover with 4:40 left and the large St. Henry crowd erupted.
Another big ‘three’…freshman Karlee Baumer canned this three-pointer to cut the deficit in the fourth quarter, and finished with 11 points.
Two defensive stops and two empty possessions later, the Redskins still trailed 48-41 when Harvest called timeout with 3:05 left. Then Addy Homan made a steal. And after a missed shot, Homan grabbed the rebound and scored. She was fouled, made the free throw and the Redskins trailed 48-44 with 2:39 left.
The Redskins’ full-court press began to exert even more pressure on Harvest.
“We had to turn it on when we had to turn it on and they were able to do it,” Uhlenhake said.
Olivia Gast, one of the Redskins’ key reserves, stole a pass before Harvest could cross half court. Then with 2:23 left, after a missed shot, Karlee Baumer passed to an open Gast. She made a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 48-47.
“Each and every one of us know our roles on the team,” said Gast who as a backup understands the need to step up and make plays more than most. “And I know my role is to go in there and pass the ball to my teammates when they’re open and make the shots when I’m open.”
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Alexis Buschur was fouled on a defensive rebound with 2:03 left and made a free throw to tie the score.
Then it was freshman Karlee Baumer’s turn to step up. She gave her team the lead at 51-48 with a 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:21 left to complete a 12-0 run.
Everyone contributed “for Molly”…Ava Homan gets to the rim for a needed bucket.
Leading 52-51, Karlee Baumer was fouled trying to score off an inbounds play. She bounced both free throws on the rim, but her soft touch allowed both to count for a 54-51 lead.
After Harvest leading scorer Janay Carter (15 points) air-balled a three-point shot out of bounds, Homan was fouled and made the final, clinching free throw with 13 seconds left.
The stats meant little to the Redskins. Karlee Buschur scored 15 points and Homan scored 13. And off bench, Gast scored 10 and Karlee Baumer scored 11 and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds against the bigger Warriors.
“She stepped up huge today,” Uhlenhake said of Baumer. “We give out a championship chain after every game. She’s getting it today because she stepped up huge.”
Older sister Morgan had to step up in her new role on the bench. She was in uniform with her left leg heavily wrapped and unable to play.
Addy Homan eyes two of her 13 points to help send the Redskins to the title game.
“I’m definitely not a sideline person – I hate being on the sideline – but it was awesome to watch them leave it all out on the court,” she said. “We talked about before the game someone’s going to have to step up. And halftime, after Molly was gone, that someone’s going to have to step up. And everyone took that into account. It was so fulfilling to watch them leave it all out there on the floor.”
The Redskins will enjoy their moment Friday night at UD Arena. And their fans will be there with maybe the largest small-school crowd of the tournament, cheering for a team down two starters, but not down on each other or their chances to make history.
“They want nothing but the best for us and I think you can tell that,” Alexis Buschur said of the fans. “We’re so grateful to be able to say that because not a lot of people can. That’s just a testament to our town of St. Henry.”
Update: Molly Wendel was treated and released Thursday with stitches and diagnosed with a concussion. She did not spend the night in the hospital.
No sweeter win…St. Henry players celebrate their state semi-final win under the most unlikely of circumstances.
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